Purification and biochemical characterization of a halotolerant Staphylococcus sp. extracellular lipase.

We have isolated a lipolytic halotolerant bacterium, designated as CJ3, that was identified as a Staphylococcus sp. Culture conditions were optimized and the highest extracellular lipase production amounting to 5 U/ml was achieved after 24 h of cultivation. The extracellular lipase was purified 24-fold by ammonium sulfate precipitation and a Sephacryl S-200 chromatography, and its molecular mass was found to be around 38 kDa, as revealed by SDS-PAGE and gel filtration.

Sensitivity and specificity of ultrasound indices of ovulation in spontaneous cycles.

Objective: Evaluation of sensitivity and specificity of 4 ultrasound indices of ovulation.

Study Design: Multicenter collaborative study of 794 abdominal and transvaginal ultrasound scanning of ovaries performed during 271 cycles in 107 normally fertile women. Comparison of sensitivities and specificities of indices using McNemar test.

Stenting small coronary arteries.

Stenting of small coronary arteries was long contra-indicated because of a high rate of subacute occlusion. We report a single-center registry including 190 patients stented with 2.5 mm balloons.

[Folic acid supplementation by 200 microgram per day during the periconceptional period: a necessary public health approach to reducing incidence of spina bifida].

The incidence of neural tube closure abnormalities, and particularly Spina-bifida is correlated with a low dietary intake of folic acid, for which the marker is the erythrocyte folate concentration. Initially, preventive policies concerned women treated with anticonvulsant agents and those with a known family history of Spina-bifida. This constituted secondary prevention.